How to tell Love from Lust

Have you ever wondered or been in a situation where you doubted if you were in love with a person or truly in lust?

Sometimes it can be difficult to tell if you are in lust or love, both can be hard to define and the lines of the the tow can get somewhat blurry.

There are different emotional and physiological components to both love and lust. Romantic attraction and feelings of love towards someone can elevate our dopamine and serotonin levels, which causes feelings of elation and loss of appetite. When we get to the point of feeling attachment and a more long-term phase of love, our bodies generate more oxytocin.

Lust, sex drive and an appetite for sex can visit during this process and is generated by increased testosterone levels in both men and women. Heightened levels of testosterone inspire a feeling of focused attention and sexual arousal. Lust can transform into deep romantic love, but it usually takes time.

Below are the signs between Love and Lust:-

Lust

Lust is usually the first stage of falling in love and can be usually driven by desire. Our sex hormones play an important part at this point.

When you’re in lust:

You focus primarily on a person’s looks and body

You have a strong desire in having sex, but not in having deep emotional conversations

You usually leave soon after sex rather than cuddling or staying the night

You’d rather keep the relationship on a fantasy level, not discuss real feelings

Love

Usually when a couple has gotten to know themselves beyond the dating phase they get to see their partner’s whole personality and accept each other for who they are. This type of love is not just an emotion, it’s also a craving. There is a strong emotional craving, the love drive is even stronger than the sex drive.

You can’t stop thinking about that person

You want to spend quality time together other than sex

You get lost in conversations and forget about the hours passing

You want to honestly listen to each other’s feelings and make each other happy.

Your partner motivates you to become a better person

You want to get to meet his or her family and friend

Amanda Ogden is from Sydney Australia, and has spent the past 13 years working within the welfare industry in both administration and case management assisting people with mental health issues, mild intellectual disabilities, acquired brain injuries, drug & alcohol, homelessness gain employment. She also loves travelling, creating jewellery, music, friends and family.